10. (Verse 26.) And therefore, in the second verse, he says: I have declared my ways, and you have heard me: teach me your justifications. He thinks that it is necessary to come to the justifications of God in a beautiful order; that first he confesses his sins. For thus we are taught elsewhere: Declare your iniquities, that you may be justified (Isaiah 43:26). Therefore, we must know what it means for a man to walk in his own ways, and the ways of God. Whoever does the desires of the flesh and lives according to the lust of this world, walks in his own ways, in which he takes delight and rejoices. But whoever seeks to do the will of his Father who is in heaven, whose food is to fulfill the commandment of God, who does not seek what is pleasing to oneself, but what pleases God; that person walks the way of the Lord, the way that says: I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). So you see that he who walks in the ways of Christ lives according to the word of God. The Lord God Himself also teaches in Deuteronomy how you should walk in His ways, saying: And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep His commandments and His statutes (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)? Therefore, it is clear that there are different paths of the flesh and different paths of God: and if anyone wishes to walk the paths of God, let him first know that he must abandon the paths of the flesh, the body, and worldly wisdom.
11. Therefore, leaving them, David proclaims and does not remain silent before God. He confesses his mistakes, he does not remain silent about his lapses. He said something similar to this: I will announce my wrongdoing to the Lord (Psalm 31:5). For if the righteous person accuses themselves, they exclude the voice of the prepared accuser, who is accustomed to embitter sins and exaggerate each person's wrongdoings. Therefore, he shuts the mouth of the person who has confessed about themselves and grants forgiveness to the one who confesses. Modesty excuses the guilty party, while shame accuses its author. For whoever does not keep silent about their own crimes, seems to regret what they have done, and to betray what they have recommended in the devil. And so Scripture says: The righteous at the beginning of speech accuses himself (Prov., XVIII, 17). Whoever accuses themselves, even though they are a sinner, begins to be righteous; because they do not spare themselves, and they confess to the justice of God, whom they believe can conceal nothing. If only Adam had wanted to accuse himself before hiding! But it is not enough for us to confess our error: rather, even if we want to be corrected, we ask the Lord to teach us His justifications, so that we may not err afterwards. Therefore, we ask to be taught by the Lord, because He is our only teacher, as Christ said (Matthew 23:18). And this request is not in vain; for blessed is not the one whom a man teaches, but the one whom You, Lord, instruct.
12. (Verse 27.) Everywhere he remembers himself, and he thinks it is not enough for the Lord our God to teach him his justifications, but he added: Show me the way of your justifications, and I will meditate on your wonders. See the order. It is first that we learn the justifications of the Lord, then that we know certain steps of justifications and the order, what should be first, what should be consequent. For to know what you do, and not to know the order of doing, is not complete knowledge: it usually offends the preposterous. Finally, he is just, who accuses himself at the beginning of the conversation; but he is unjust, who confesses what he had previously denied. The former finds the grace of modesty; the latter incurs the mark of impudence. Thus, ignorance of order disturbs the nature and form of affairs. However, he who first learns the mysteries of God, then the order of the mysteries, is trained in the wonders of God.
13. The Greek poet ἀδολεσχησῷ said: according to Latinus, I will hallucinate. In this, there seems to be some offense in the language according to common usage; for ἀδολεσχῆσαι is commonly understood to mean either hallucinate or speak more than necessary, and it seems superfluous, which is displeasing to the listener. It also seems out of order, as the order of things seems to bring disgust; for example, if you want to explain a cause and maintain order, but the listener rushes to the conclusion, they will find the earlier parts distasteful. But it cannot be fully understood unless one has knowledge of its order. From this, not only the thing itself is understood, but also the weight of the deed and the emotions of the doer. Therefore, David, like a good judge and arbiter of himself, wants to be taught almost to the point of disgust and prefers to spend more time than necessary rather than skip the necessary order. For excessive and protracted meditation seems to be a form of wandering or a burdensome fixation of the mind, which is not far from exercise, either of the mind or of the body. For just as someone who exercises their limbs in the gym, exercises them for a longer time in order to strengthen them: so someone who exercises their mind in divine Scriptures, or in counsel, ought to exercise it for a longer time.
14. Isaac went out into the field (Gen. XXIV, 63). The Greek word ἀδολεσχῆσαι corresponds to the Latin word deambulare or exerceri, meaning to walk or exercise. Rebecca came; she was a type prefiguring the Church. The wedding was being prepared, in which a great mystery would be celebrated. Seeing these mysteries, the patriarch went out into the field, pouring out the bitterness of his mind and walking in the innocence of his heart. He exercised his mind with various thoughts and delighted in marvelous mysteries. The holy prophet desired to imitate him, to be taught the justifications of God and to know the way of celestial justice. He did not let his soul sleep in the slumber of this world, nor was he captivated by the allurements of worldly vanity, drifting away from the pursuit of truth.
15. (Verse 28.) In what way, therefore, He desires to be taught, He showed by saying: 'My soul has dripped forth with weariness, strengthen Thou me according to Thy words.' Some codices have 'has slumbered,' because 'has slumbered' and 'has dripped forth' are discordant in two letters. The interpreter or ancient writer could be deceived here: 'λιᾷν' is to sleep, 'στάζειν' is to drip forth. The more perfect one does not slumber, who directs his mind to divine mysteries. Finally, He Himself elsewhere says: 'If I shall give sleep to My eyes, or slumber to My eyelids.' (Psalm 131:4). But he is always awake, and if the flesh sleeps, the heart is awake. Therefore, he who intended to build a temple for the Lord by the edification of heavenly words, not of stones, was not sleeping. For the word of God is the repellent of tedium, by which the sleep of the soul and the drowsiness of the mind are excluded. For sleep creeps in from the sadness and anxiety of worldly things. But he who clings to God, fleeing from cares, embraces the pleasure of eternal knowledge, fearing no change of worldly things.
16. Those who make use of easier shortcuts therefore become sluggish and lazy; but Origen, who carefully examines the interpretations of many, trickles down in his writings, following the fact that a perfected soul, like a well-composed and fortified structure, does not trickle down as the roof peaks that are well-covered and protected; on the other hand, uncomposed things quickly trickle down. Hence the saying is used: 'Stillicidia eject a man from his house in winter', in which we are tempted by the harshness of the cold and the frequent change of air. Finally, we are taught to be careful that our flight does not happen in winter or on the Sabbath (Matt. XXIV, 20). For the proven days should already find us either at the judgment or at death, lest it find us widowed of the greenness of prosperity and stripped of all the flowers of success in this world.
Let us therefore beware that none of us be cast out from the state of his own mind and from his natural dwelling-place, if he have any hollow places in his dwelling-places, from which as from foundations flowing drops undermine the man who is grounded upon no solidity of wisdom. Therefore the prophet saith: Son, let not the current flow down. (Prov., III, 21). Our soul must therefore be fortified, that it may not drip; and a firm structure must be built up of the indivisible union of virtues, that it may be able to preserve the mystery of the eternal King. Moreover, whoever is easy with words, like a full of cracks, flowing here and there, empties his interior and is flooded with external passions, unaware of how to cover himself, nor hold onto the word he has received: just like the holy Mary who kept all these words in her heart (Luke, II, 51), so that nothing would flow out of her heart.
18. The Church speaks of herself as fortified with the dowry of virtues, so that it may seem worthy of the Sponsus, who is invited to enter her hospitality. Hence, first of all, she presumes that she will be pleasing if Christ, gazing at her, beholds her well-covered and preserving faithful silence. Behold, she says, my beautiful cousin, indeed handsome: our leaning is shady, the beams of our houses are cedar, our ceilings are cypress (Song of Songs 1:15-16). The Church praises the beauty of the Sponsus, which each individual praises with silent affection, and the faithful interpreter of mysteries proclaims even more through silence. For whoever reveals secrets diminishes the glory of Christ. Therefore, let no one cast their pearls before swine, lest they trample on precious ornaments. Therefore, do not speak in the tavern of the loquacious and garrulous, for in much talking sin is committed; but in the presence of a serious man who is sparing in speech, avoiding immoderate speech and the drunkenness of loquacity, Christ inclines his head.
19. And rightly it signifies a shady inclination, because virtue overshadows those established in the Church of the Most High. This shade David sought for protection; so that the sun would not burn him during the day, nor the moon during the night (Ps. CXX, 6). This shade is provided by the spiritual grace, fleeing from the scorching heat of this age and the summer of the world. Therefore, the shady inclination of Christ and the Church, to whom that eternal rest of God the Father aspires. In this shade, let us rest, weary from the heat of our sins. If anyone is burned by desire, let them be refreshed with the cross of the Lord, on which he reclined, in order to take up our sins. If anyone is wearied by guilt, let them be received in the embrace of Jesus, and let him comfort them with his gentle embrace. Therefore, I dare to say that the leaning of the flesh of Christ is the Church.
20. The beams of our houses are cedar. The glory of our ancestors who were just is declared by the appearance of cedar; for the just shall flourish like the palm tree, and shall be multiplied like the cedar that is in Lebanon. For as the cedar does not rot, so does the glory of our ancestors not decay with any age.
21. Our lacunaria of cypress. This type of tree never loses its greenness: it feeds its foliage in winter, spring, and summer, and does not change color. Only the wind never strips this tree of its honor: it is never divested of its old garment, nor clothed in a new flower. Likewise, apostolic grace knows no decline: but it flourishes with age. Therefore, the soul, which is vigorous with flourishing merits, does not know how to corrupt, always sustains the heights of justice and other virtues with patient magnanimity. And therefore it does not flow away or fail; because nothing in it is broken or loose, nothing is movable, nothing is slippery, nothing that could be poured out due to the fault of speech. And thus it seeks to confirm itself in its own words, as the Prophet says (Ps. 72:2); so that its feet may not be moved, nor its steps poured out. But if someone abides with a straight heart, they do not suffer, but being rooted and grounded, they remain immovable against all the waves of passion.
22. (Verse 29.) So, being confirmed in his words, he says: Remove the way of iniquity from me, and have mercy on me according to your law. He did not say: Remove me from the way of iniquity; but, Remove the way of iniquity from me; as if it were within us, and seemed to be in us. For as long as we practice something wicked, the way of iniquity remains within us, and does not depart from us; therefore, let us strive to separate it from ourselves. But because the adhesive glue of hereditary iniquity clings to human minds, the assistance of a liberator is necessary. Pray, both you and say: Unhappy am I, who will remove from me the path of wickedness? Through the grace of God and Jesus Christ our Lord; and beautifully he said the way of wickedness, not wickedness; because natural wickedness is not in us, but the footprints of our ancestors who have passed after sins.
And rightfully so, because the wound is large and old, and it has been festering for a long time, it requires more advanced medical treatment, begging to be healed by the legitimate mercy of the Lord. For a wound quickly becomes irritated if it has not been healed by the laws of medicine; indeed, even a more serious treatment feels the progress. Therefore, if the infection spreads internally, the medicines applied externally do not have an effect. Therefore, the method of medicine requires that it be treated either by cutting or by burning. For unless putrefaction is removed, or useless moisture is boiled away, in vain are the hands of medicine applied to wounds. Therefore, a good physician rightly says that such a sick person must be treated in order for medicine to be of benefit. Therefore, the law shows mercy to those who show mercy with justice and wisdom, so that they may forgive what they know can be forgiven by law; lest in showing mercy to another, they make themselves subject to the law. Agag, after being shown mercy, caused Saul to sin. For he has sinned in mercy itself, and therefore he has sinned after mercy.
24. Let us also consider, lest we make even that person worse, whom we pity unjustly. For often it is of greater authority not to punish wrongdoers than to seek revenge. Those who have committed something dishonourable are often delivered up to the passions of disgrace, and they receive no reward for their guilt. Finally, those who did not consider God the avenger of their sins, and who lived as if without a judge and without law, God delivered them, as it is said, to a reprobate sense (Romans 1:28): because they chose the path of iniquity, and they did not want to choose the path of truth.
25. (Vers. 30.) But the prophet, who wanted to convert with sincere affection, said, 'I have chosen the path of truth; I have not forgotten your commandments.' Those who err in doctrine cannot say this. An Arian cannot say it, a Sabellian cannot say it, a Manichaean cannot say it. A greedy person who desires worldly and material things cannot say it. A busy person cannot say it, for the pursuit of truth does not involve the desire to possess. How is it that the way of truth, when that wealthy man is unable to transfer his riches with him in the world, he begins to be even needier than that beggar Lazarus after death? The way of truth is not the honor of the world, but the concern of the world. Finally, he who chooses the way of truth says shortly after: Turn my eyes away lest they see vanity (Inf. verse 37). The vanity of temporal things is the truth of eternal things. If therefore we desire to walk the way of truth, let us be more like pilgrims to the world than to God, and let us walk by faith. For the one who walks by faith is present to God, and the one who walks by appearance is present to the world, and he is a pilgrim from the Lord; but here he is quickly confounded.
26. (Verse 31.) From which [reason] David says, fleeing from a man of this sort: I have clung to your testimonies, O Lord; do not put me to shame. He clings to the testimonies of the Lord who does not reject his commandments, does not forget his judgments, and does not indulge in his own desires. He who clings to the testimonies of the Lord renounces the world, forgets the things that are behind, strives towards the things that are before, in order to attain the prize, which is the mark of victory. Therefore, he is not put to shame whom the seductive allurements of this world do not deceive; he is not put to shame, even if he commits things that should be ashamed of, who seeks forgiveness for his sins from Christ. Therefore, it is responded to him: Your sins are forgiven you . . . go in peace (Luke, VII, 48 and 50). But it is not thus confused, if the remission of sins has been accomplished in him; so that it not only takes away sins, but also the inclination to sin. Righteousness forgives iniquities, strength removes fear, temperance cleanses impurities; so that not only temporal, but also eternal forgiveness of sins is made. Let Christ enter into your soul, let Jesus dwell in your minds; so that in the dwelling of virtue, there can be no place for sin.
27. (Verse 32.) 'I ran the way of thy commandments when thou didst enlarge my heart,' says the psalmist. For he could not run the way unless his heart were enlarged. Finally, the apostle says to those who are running the way of the Lord, 'Be ye enlarged, and be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers' (2 Cor., VI, 13 and 14). And he says of himself, 'Our mouth is open unto you, O ye Corinthians, our heart is enlarged' (Ibid., 11). Therefore it is also said of Solomon: 'The largeness of his heart was as the sand of the sea' (1 Kings, IV, 29); and consider the difference: let the way be narrower, the heart broader, that it may be capable of receiving the indwelling of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost; lest the Word of God should come and knock, and seeing the straits of his heart, disdain to dwell there. Finally, wisdom is sung in its departure, but it acts with confidence in the streets. The streets are wide. Therefore, wisdom is not sung in the roads, but in the breadth of the heart. In this field of the inner man, we must run, not in the narrowness of the mind, in order to comprehend. For it is written: 'Run in such a way that you may obtain the prize' (1 Corinthians 9:24). Finally, he comprehends who has run in such a way that he may say: 'I have finished my course' (2 Timothy 4:7); for he has run like a good horse.
Indeed, Christ has his own horses, of whom the Prophet says: You sent out your horses into the sea, disturbing many waters (Habakkuk, 3:15); this is because the apostles, by preaching, stirred up the peoples of the nations, who are moved like many waters and stirred up like the waves of many waters, so that they would rise up from earthly idolatrous ceremonies and believe in Christ. And he also says: I have mounted on your horses; your cavalry brings healing (Habakkuk, 3:8). Oh, the wonderful team of good horses, whose reins of peace are the reins of charity! They are bound together by the chains of harmony, and subjected to the yoke of faith, carrying the mystery of the Gospel on the four wheels, bringing the Word of God as a good charioteer, driving away the secular enticements with his whip, and the prince of this world is vanquished, the race of the righteous is complete. Oh, the great contest of rational horses! Oh wondrous mystery! The wheel within a wheel was turning, and was not hindered. The New Testament was in the Old Testament, and within it, it ran, through which it was announced. The wheels went in four directions, and did not turn back; for the spirit of life was in those who ran in the four parts of the whole world; and they ran without stumbling, for the good life of the horses was squared. So the horses ran; for the one who had ascended the horses did not sleep.
Therefore, Jesus is the charioteer of our souls, who also wants us to ascend our horses, that is, our bodies; but we must always be vigilant, lest it be said to us: Those who ascended the horses have fallen asleep (Psalm 75:7). This sea must be crossed quickly. It is hardly crossed by those who are vigilant; but if anyone should fall asleep, they will not be able to cross; rather, they will be submerged, like the Egyptian whose soul and body perished: For he cast the horse and its rider into the sea (Exodus 15:1), those who did not follow the law, but pursued.
Sermon 5. He.
The fifth letter, He, which means in Latin, is: or, as found elsewhere, I live. Both interpretations are suitable; for the one who is, lives; and the one who lives, exists. Indeed, the nations are not alive; and for this reason, they do not live, but are dead. But Jesus is yesterday and today, He is Himself, and He is forever (Heb., XIII, 8). And He who is, lives: For I myself live, says the Lord God (Ezek., XXXIII, 11). For how can He not exist, who lives? But Jesus, who also brings the dead to life and calls into existence the things that do not exist as if they did. It is no wonder if nature yields to the Lord, that the dead may be brought to life and may begin to exist who were not. And therefore, because the way is also the life according to Him who says: I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6); let us seek the way, that we may deserve to have life. Let us hear, therefore, Him who lives in Christ. But he lives who says: But we who live, bless you, O Lord (Psalm 114:18); for even whoever has died in Christ, lives.
2. (Verse 33.) Let us hear, I say, what He has said in order to live: Establish for me, O Lord, the law of Your justifications, and I will always seek it. The soldier who proceeds on a journey does not determine the order of his provisions himself, nor does he choose the way according to his own judgment, nor does he seek luxurious shortcuts, lest he depart from the signs: but he receives the itinerary from the commander, and keeps to it; he proceeds in the prescribed order; he walks with his armor, and completes the journey on the right path; so that he may find prepared supplies for his provisions. If he walks by another route, he does not receive provisions, he does not find a prepared lodging; because the emperor orders all these things to be prepared for those who follow, and they do not deviate from the prescribed route neither to the right nor to the left. And he who follows his emperor does not fail without reason; for he walks in moderation, because the emperor considers not what is advantageous to himself, but what is possible for everyone: therefore he also arranges stations; the army walks for three days, and rests on the fourth day. Cities are chosen in which three, four, or more days are spent, if there is an abundance of water and they are frequented by commerce: and so the journey is completed without labor until one reaches that city, which is chosen as if royal, where rest is provided for weary armies.
I would like you to recognize that this law of eating was prescribed, with Christ leading and the saints accompanying. For our fathers also set out from the land of Egypt and journeyed through extensive stretches of land, with each stopping place and encampment recorded, until they reached Kadesh, that is, the holy land. These are the stopping places of the Israelites, which Moses described by command of the Lord. Therefore, we observe who ordained these encampments and how the children of Israel should walk. For God led them during the day in a pillar of cloud, to give them shade on their way, and at night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people. But that pillar of cloud indeed led the children of Israel in appearance, but in mystery it signified the Lord Jesus who would come in a light cloud, as Isaiah said (Isaiah. XIX, 1); that is, in the Virgin Mary, who was a cloud according to the inheritance of Eve: she was light according to the integrity of virginity. She was light, who sought not to please man, but the Lord. She was light, who conceived not in iniquity, but brought forth by the coming of the Holy Spirit: not in sin, but gave birth with grace.
Another interpretation can also be taken. Christ came in a light cloud to Egypt, that is, he came in the assumption of a body into this world. He came in a cloud, which the cloud of the body overshadowed: but the flesh was light, which was not burdened by its own sins. For how could he be burdened by his own sins, who took away the sins of all peoples? Behold, says he, the Lamb of God: behold him who takes away the sin of the world (John, I, 29). Yesterday the bed was made, where Jesus stood, and he had dirty clothes; for he carried my sins. He took up our clothes, so that he might clothe us with the splendor of immortality. He came in a light cloud as justice; for iniquity sits on a leaden talent: Christ in the hearts of the righteous, in whom there were no sins. And therefore the bed was well made today: What shall I render to the Lord for all that he has rendered to me? (Psalm 116:12) For us, the Word took on the weakness of flesh: for us, He hungered, was beaten, crucified, and died; so that for us, in whom before life was considered ignoble and degenerate, death might begin to be precious.